AN emergency evacuation plan swung into action in Galway city centre following a fire on board a trawler.

About 25 residents and workers were removed from 14 premises, including homes, shops and offices in the area of Galway Docks amid concerns of a possible explosion. The trawler was berthed at the city docks when the fire broke out yesterday morning.

MEMORIAL VANDALISED

A LANDMARK memorial dedicated to the memory of people who lost their lives on the River Shannon has been smashed by vandals.

Damage to the polished granite memorial in Lanesboro, Co Longford, is estimated at €4,000. Erected in 2008, the memorial commemorates 35 people who died when a ferryboat travelling from Ballyleague to Lanesboro capsized in 1701. Gardai are now investigating the incident and can be contacted on 043 3321102.

€220M PLAN IN CLEAR

A €220m development for the old Dell site in Limerick can proceed following a decision by An Taisce to withdraw its appeal with An Bord Pleanala.

There were concerns that 900 new jobs could be delayed, after the heritage body appealed against the transport condition of the planning permission granted to Regeneron, a US biopharmaceutical company. Regeneron plans to invest €220m in a new facility. An Taisce took issue with the planned access routes to the site, which they claimed were contrary to Limerick's position as a Smarter Travel Hub.

ARMY IN BOMB PROBE

AN ARMY bomb disposal squad was called to a farm in response to fears an old mortar device could have remained undiscovered inside a wall of a farm building.

It was not known when the device may have been hidden in the wall but it could have dated from the time of the War of Independence or earlier. The bomb squad searched the building on farmland in Ticknock Road, in Dublin 18, yesterday, but were unable to detect the presence of any explosive device.

SECURITY MAN STABBED

A SECURITY guard had an unknown substance thrown at his face and was viciously stabbed last night.

The incident occurred at Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock, Dublin, shortly before the centre closed at 9pm last night. The security guard, understood to be a male in his mid 20s, was rushed to the nearby Beaumont Hospital by ambulance.